/jp/ - Otaku Culture

It was...Wood. A wooden sculpture, about the length of my palm from heel to middle fingertip. She'd clearly put a lot of thought into it, because it glistened with polish. "Oh, Nai..." Yamame breathed. It was...Us. A spider, perched on a Yin-Yang orb. It might have been made from wood, but I could tell that it was the sort of thing where if I'd tried to look from underneath, I'd have been able to perfectly see the patterns that Yamame's spider legs had. The attention to detail seemed to be amazing, and I had no idea how Nai had pulled it off.

"S-So, um - Do you like - Like it!?" She asked the question all in a hurry, her fists clenched very tightly at her sides. I wondered if she was perhaps poking herself sharply with her fingernails. "I-It's okay if you don't, I'll just…“

Yamame wrapped her arms around her little sister, squeezing gently. "I love it, Nai. It's beautiful. Absolutely beautiful. How did you manage it?" She looked up from the wooden sculpture to Nai, who blushed greatly and laughed a little. I echoed the sentiment, adding that I hadn't known it was possible to cut wood like that. "You've gotten so good without me even seeing - It makes me feel very proud..."

Nai blushed and her smile seemed to only grow wider. "May I...?" Yamame asked tentatively, reaching down to the little sculpture. "Nai nodded, adding that it was a gift for us, anyway. Yamame lifted it gently from the box, passing it over to me. The wood was dark and well-polished, feeling very smooth in my hands. It was very well-crafted. There were some things that looked like they could have been done in more detail, but that was something that Nai could do with more experience. "Nai, you've really outdone yourself. I love you, little sister."

Nai looked like we'd just made her entire year. "A-Ah, thank you, Big Sis Yamame!" She cried, bowing again. "I really wanted to do a good job for you!" She'd done an excellent job, I said. I had a feeling that we'd both be treasuring this sculpture for a long time.

Nai looked completely elated, so I reminded her to not settle with this and to keep working at it. The slightly selfish motive behind that was that I wanted to see if she'd give us anything more in time, but I kept that quiet. I really was happy for her, after all. Beaming, she ran a hand through her hair. It was still more manageable than Kisami's by leagues and leagues, so running her hands through it didn't produce many tangles. It didn't stop it from immediately falling back into her eyes, either. "I'll - I'll keep learning so I can make you something better." She told us seriously. "It's really fun, too!"

"I'm happy for you, Nai." Yamame said, smiling. "You've got real talent at this." She gently placed the sculpture back into the box. I wasn't really sure what I would do with it for now, so I just handed it back to Nai and told her that we would take it home with us. I wanted that somewhere that I could see it every day. It was a reminder that people cared and that I was part of a family, I thought to myself. Something that, a year ago, I'd not really had to such a huge degree. I'd had people, but nothing like what I had now. Plus, it really was beautiful.

I looked around, seeing the Horismriver Ensemble over out of the way, discussing something. That was probably soon, then. But - First, I saw something more important, Kasen, standing by the stone railing around Mugenkan. She was on her own, watching as Suika and Yuugi attempted to...Seemingly convince Reimu that they could perform human juggling, if the gesturing was anything to go by. Yamame caught my gaze. "Talk to her." She encouraged me. "I'm not blind, Reiki. You're holding her just slightly more at arm's length now." She was definitely attentive. "Maybe that's why you married me." She said, smiling. That, and about a million other things. "Charmer. Go, before they start the dancing." She pushed me in that direction, so I headed over there before something else could come and distract me.

Kasen Ibaraki held a small sake cup between her hands and stared out over the crowd. When I climbed the steps, she heard and looked over, letting one hand fall to the railing instead of holding the cup. "Oh, Reiki." She murmured. "What brings you over here and away from your wife?" I was curious, I replied. She was on her own instead of with her fellow oni. "Yeah. That's - I think that's the Raki part. There's still just..." She tapped her forehead. "The slightest bit of exhaustion from the crowds, up here. Like I needed a break."

>>43265744
Ibarakasen unification special action

>>38852582
I love oni kasen so much